It was the annual Fan Appreciation Day for the Howe Sound Cannons ballclub on Saturday (July 13) and the defending North Shore Men's Baseball Association (NSMBA) champs gave those in attendance something to cheer about.
The Cannons hosted a pair of games at Laroy Watt field, and game one saw the club welcome the Deep Cove A's to Squamish.
The game turned out to be a defensive battle, with the two teams combining for a total of only nine hits. Howe Sound managed to get on the board with four runs on six hits to take the 4-0 win.
Starting pitcher David "The Manager" Jones extended his scoreless inning streak to 14, pitching five scoreless innings and allowing only three hits. Jeremy Galley came on in relief and shut the door with four strikeouts in the final two innings to grab the save.
"TheMighty A's got shut down by upper management," Galley said, referring to Jones solid pitching. "The manager's left side got a little bit tired in the fifth so I stepped in to close 'er down."
The Cannons battled the Brewers in game two and the visitors grabbed an early lead with two runs in the first inning. The Brewers held a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh but the Cannons came through in the clutch. Tyler "The Hammer" Magee started a late rally with a single and was followed up by another single from Jones. Galley then came up with two men on and crushed a pitch to deep left to send the game to extra innings.
In the bottom of the 10th, Jordan Herbison got on base and "Big Rigg" Smith drove him home for the 5-4 win. Herbison was also on the mound for all 10 innings, picking up 12 strikeouts.
"Fan Appreciation Day was a big success and Herbison won the inaugural hot dog eating contest," said Magee. "But don't tell his girlfriend who believes he swore off meat a goodsix months ago."
The Cannons improve to 12 wins and three losses on the season with the pair of wins and remain in first place in the NSMBA. The team will wrap up its regular season at home on Saturday (July 20) with a doubleheader against the Reds. Game one kicks off at noon, with game two getting underway at 3 p.m.
For more information on the team, visit www.ballcharts.com/hscannons.
